Christianity

A Prison Litany

For those who judge the actions of others, who need wisdom in the application of justice and understanding care. Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.

For those who through word and deed bring true humanity to relationships, and show compassion to the needs of others; let us bless the Lord, Thanks be to God.

Christian Ministry

For those Christians whose thoughts turn into prayer and whose prayer turns into action; let us bless the Lord. Thanks be to God.

For those who show forth the gifts of the Spirit in love, joy, peace; for those who are patient, good, gentle, self-controlled and faithful; let us bless the Lord, Thanks be to God.

For those whose love bears all things, hopes all things, endures all things, whose love never ends; let us bless the Lord, Thanks be to God.

For the ministry to which God calls us as a community to make Jesus present to inmates as well as victims, let us pray to the Lord.

God the Creator,
have mercy on us.
God the Redeemer,
have mercy on us.
God the Sanctifier,
have mercy on us.

Holy, blessed and glorious Trinity whose unity draws us together, have mercy on us.

From all evil and mischief; from pride, vanity and hypocrisy; from envy, hatred and malice; and from all evil intent, Good Lord deliver us.

From laziness, worldliness and love of money; from hardness of heart and contempt for your word and your laws, Good Lord deliver us.

From the sins of body and mind; from the deceits of the world, the flesh and the devil, and from anger and violence in word and deed, Good Lord deliver us.

The Needs of Those Inside

For those in prison for the first time, and for the families and friends from whom they are separated. Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.

For those made hard and cynical by life in prison; for those who feel no sorrow for what they have done, and for those thinking of further crime. Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.

For those who break the good order and the discipline of prison life; for those in the punishment wing, and for those seeking protection. Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.

For the weak who are abused by the strong; for those who desperately long to be accepted; for the unloved and the unwanted who receive neither letter nor visit. Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.

For those whose faith in Christ is mocked; for those who are taunted for going to Chapel, for reading the Bible and praying. Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.

For those who stand firm in the faith and witness to Christ in word and in deed. Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.

The Needs of Those Outside

For those contemplating crime today; for those arrested and taken to the prison cells for the first time in their lives, and for their families. Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.

For those who work for a greater justice in an overcrowded, underfunded justice system and for those who don't; for those who have abandoned hope in a fair trial, and for those who are victims of rough justice. Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.

For those who depend on alcohol to give them courage or to drown their misery, and for those whose lives and families have been destroyed through alcohol abuse. Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.

For those who are addicted to drugs and for those who sell them. Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.

For the strong who put pressure on the weak; for those who create anxiety and fear; for those who by their false and evil beliefs lead the simple away from the truth in Christ. Lord in your mercy, Hear our prayer.

Staff

For strength for those who see their work as service; for those who have lost their vocation; who compromise their professionalism; who find it hard to see good in anyone. Lord in your mercy, Hear our prayer.

The Needs of Victims

For those who have been victimized that their cries may not go unheard, and their injuries healed by a justice that seeks to restore and reconcile. Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.

For those who know victims, that like the Good Samaritan, they too, may be willing to take the time, money and effort required to respond in compassion. Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.

For ourselves, as neighbours, that we might grow in awareness of others' fear, anger and helplessness, and learn how to bring wholeness again. Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.